WALTER  MASON 


I?™  INFAMY,  U.  S.  ARMY 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

THE  PETER  AND  ROSELL  HARVEY 

MEMORIAL  FUND 


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Captain 


WALTER  MASON  DICKINSON 


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fIDemorial  Servicea, 


Memorial  Services  for  Captain  Walter  Mason  Dick 
inson,  i;th  Infantry,  U.  S.  Army,  were  held  on  the  after 
noon  of  Wednesday,  November  9,  1898,  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  Born  in  the 
town  of  Amherst — receiving  his  early  education  at  the 
college,  and  returning  to  it  as  military  instructor  in  his 
maturer  years,  it  was  peculiarly  fitting  that  the  last  ser 
vices  should  be  held  there  among  his  old  associates  and 
pupils.  The  address  was  delivered  by  the  President,  his 
lifelong  friend  and  teacher,  and  the  religious  exercises 
were  conducted  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  S.  Walker, 
assisted  by  the  Rev.  Albert  Bryant  of  Scituate. 

The  pulpit  was  draped  with  the  American  flag,  as 
was  also  his  portrait,  which  stood  upon  an  easel  on  the 
right  of  the  platform.  The  sabre,  worn  on  the  field  of 
El  Caney,  was  slung  above  it,  resting  amid  the  folds  of 
the  college  battalion  flag,  and  beneath  it  was  suspended 
a  wreath  of  red  and  white  roses,  knotted  with  blue  rib 
bon  and  intertwined  with  sprays  of  running  vine.  The 
front  seats  were  occupied  by  the  Senior  class,  the  only 
members  of  the  college  who  had  been  cadets  under  him. 
Eight  members  of  the  Junior  class,  in  military  uniform, 
acted  as  ushers.  A  large  concourse  of  friends  and  rela 
tives  gathered  to  pay  the  last  tribute  to  their  hero.  The 
faculty  of  both  colleges  were  present,  the  Governor  was 
represented  by  one  of  his  staff,  and  Pacific  Lodge  F.  and 


A.  M.,  of  which  he  had  been  Master,  as  his  great- 
grandfather|had  been  before  him,  attended  in  a  body, 
dressed  in  their  regalia.  The  services  were  brief,  but 
impressive.  Selections|from  the  lament  of  David  over 
Saul  and  Jonathan  and  the  twenty-third  Psalm  were  read 
by  Dr.  Walker.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bry 
ant,  and  this  was  followed  by  the  memorial  address  and 
benediction.  "  Integer  Vitae  "  and  "  Into  the  silent  land" 
were  sung  by  fourteen  members  of  the  Northampton 
vocal  club. 

On  the  following  day  in  the  National  Cemetery  at 
Arlington,  he  was  laid  to  rest  under  the  shade  of  a  spread 
ing  oak,  in  a  lot  adjoining  the  one  in  which  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  J.  T.  Haskell,  the  commanding  officer  of  his  regi 
ment,  was  buried.  The  blind  chaplain  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  his  brother-in-law,  recited  with  faltering 
voice  the  solemn  burial  service,  closing  with  the  prayer: 
"O  Thou  Eternal  One  in  whose  all-encircling  love  we 
dwell,  enable  us  by  the  pure  light  of  faith  to  look  beyond 
the  clouds  and  the  mist,  that  we  may  behold  Thy  benign 
face  beaming  with  love  and  compassion  upon  us  as  we 
thus  deposit  these  precious  remains  in  their  last  resting 
place.  Shed  over  these  bereaved  hearts  Thy  healing 
balm  and  enable  us  with  confidence  to  say  'O  death,  where 
is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave  where  is  thy  victory  ?'  looking 
forward  with  hope  to  that  blessed  reunion  in  the  bright 
beyond,  'where  the  beautiful  beings  that  here  pass  before 
us  like  shadows,  will  stay  in  our  presence  forever.' "  The 
soldiers  fired  their  parting  volleys.  The  bugler  sounded 
taps  and  the  last  faint  echoes  died  away  in  the  silence  of 
the  grave. 


(ft  \SUfV4, 

0 


My  friends,  we  have  met  today  to  hold  memorial  ser 
vices  for  one  who  was  dear  to  us  all.  It  is  very  fitting  that 
such  hour  of  remembrance  should  be  held  here.  For  this 
was  his  home.  These  were  the  hills  he  loved.  This  was 
his  college  and  here  he  came  back  in  his  riper  years  to 
share  the  knowledge  he  had  obtained  with  his  younger 
brothers.  And  if  the  simple  story  of  his  life  may  lead 
any  one  not  merely  in  word,  but  deed,  to  follow  the  path 
he  chose  and  take  as  his  precious  legacy  all  that  was  pure 
and  noble  and  lofty  in  him,  I  shall  feel  that  this  hour  will 
not  have  been  spent  in  vain. 

Montaigne  in  his  essay  entitled  "The  resemblance  of 
children  to  their  fathers  "  says  —  "We  need  not  trouble 
ourselves  to  seek  out  miracles  and  strange  difficulties,  for 
methinks  there  are  such  incomprehensible  wonders  among 
the  things  that  we  ordinarily  see  as  surpass  all  difficulties 
of  miracle."  These  words  he  applies  to  inherited  pecul 
iarities  of  mind  and  body,  to  strong  mental  characteris 
tics,  strange  perversions  of  nature,  marvels  of  strength 
and  courage,  survivors  of  ancestors  long  since  mouldered 
into  dust.  Man's  natural  abilities  are  derived  by  inheri 
tance  and  each  generation  exerts  enormous  power  over 
the  natural  ability  of  those  that  follow.  In  the  far 
reaching  influences  that  go  out  to  every  life  and  away 
backward  as  certainly  as  forward,  men  are  born  with  cer- 


tain  traits  so  individualized,  we  call  it  genius.  We  are 
the  creatures,  not  of  a  day,  but  of  a  thousand  years,  and 
within  our  veins  lie  dormant  the  inherited  tendencies  of 
past  ages.  Ancestral  impulses  slumbering  in  one  genera 
tion  start  into  life  in  another  and  the  strength  and  im 
pact  of  the  will  gathering  through  many  ages  will  under 
favoring  circumstances  manifest  itself  with  startling 
power  in  some  remote  individual.  Of  all  hereditary 
traits  none  is  stronger  than  love  of  country.  The  old 
Roman  putting  aside  the  claims  of  blood  exclaimed — 
"  Dear  are  our  parents  to  us,  dear  our  kinsmen,  friends 
and  children,  but  our  country  alone  embraces  all  that  is 
dear  to  us  all.  For  which,  what  good  man  would  hesi 
tate  to  die  if  he  could  do  her  service."  On  none  did  this 
heritage  of  patriotism  fall  more  richly  than  on  Walter 
Dickinson.  What  was  said  of  Sherman  Hoar  could  with 
equal  propriety  be  said  of  him — "Love  of  country  and 
devotion  to  her  interests  were  a  fundamental  part  of  his 
religion.  The  spirit  which  animated  his  several  revolu 
tionary  ancestors  seemed  to  have  descended  to  him  in 
concentrated  and  glorified  form." 

That  same  spirit  which  led  three  of  his  ancestors  to 
lay  down  their  lives  in  King  Philip's  war,  stirred  within 
his  veins  when  he  led  his  troop  so  gallantly  against  the 
Apaches  in  Arizona.  The  heroic  courage  and  endurance 
of  that  patriot  hero  who  starved  with  Washington  at 
Valley  Forge  and  in  the  cold  and  darkness  of  that  his 
toric  Christmas  night  crossed  the  Delaware  and  aided 
in  the  capture  of  the  Hessians,  was  his  portion,  and  last, 
the  bravery  of  him  who  calmly  stood  on  Bunker  Hill, 
reserving  his  fire  till  he  could  look  straight  into  the  eyes 
of  the  advancing  British  grenadier,  gave  to  him  that 
cool,  intrepid  bearing  which  he  displayed  at  El  Caney. 

8 


The  hot,  impetuous  words  so  frequently  rising  to  his 
lips,  but  as  often  atoned  for  by  manly,  honest  apology, 
were  but  the  echo  of  the  emphatic  utterance  of  his  great 
grandfather,  "Squire  Nat,"  who,  when  the  tory  minister 
of  this  town,  reading  from  the  pulpit  a  proclamation, 
issued  by  authority  of  the  new  government,  added  to  the 
customary  conclusion  of  "God  save  the  Commonwealth 
of  Massachusetts  "  the  expression  "But  I  say  God  save 
the  King,"  sprang  to  his  feet  in  his  pew  and  angrily  re 
torted  "And  I  say  you  are  a  d — d  rascal." 

A  double  portion  of  this  rich  and  glorious  inheritance 
was  his,  descending  as  it  did  through  both  sides  of  his 
family.  But  it  was  not  alone  upon  the  battlefield  his 
ancestors  bore  their  part.  They  were  equally  ready  at 
home.  Prominent  in  all  public  matters,  they  did  not 
hesitate  to  boldly  express  their  opinions  on  every  sub 
ject  affecting  the  interests  of  their  country,  even  when 
such  expression  brought  down  upon  them  imprisonment 
and  loss  of  property.  It  may  not  be  uninteresting  to 
briefly  trace  this  ancestral  line  and  scrutinize  the  strain 
from  which  has  sprang  so  noble  a  type. 

The  ancestor  of  Walter  Dickinson  in  the  eighth  gen 
eration  was  Deacon  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  born  about 
1600,  in  the  cathedral  town  of  Ely,  near  Cambridge,  Eng 
land.  He  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Articles  of 
Agreement  drawn  up  by  the  Cambridge  Company,  and 
emigrated  to  Massachusetts  in  1630.  After  spending  a 
few  years  in  Watertown,  he  became  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Connecticut  colony  and  settled  in  Wethersfield, 
where  for  twenty  years  he  served  as  town  clerk.  Re 
moving  thence  in  1658,  in  company  with  many  others 
from  Connecticut,  he  founded  the  town  of  Old  Hadley, 
where  he  filled  pretty  much  every  office  of  trust,— town 


clerk,  selectman,  assessor,  deacon  and  school  committee. 
He  was  one  of  the  original  trustees  of  Hopkins  Acad 
emy  and  a  member  of  the  Hampshire  Troop  of  Horse. 
Three  of  his  sons,  John,  Joseph  and  Azarial,  were  killed 
in  King  Philip's  war,  and  the  old  man  died  in  1676  while 
it  was  still  in  progress. 

(2)  Lieutenant  Nehemiah  Dickinson,  born  in  Weth- 
ersfield  in  1644  and  dying  in  Hadley  1723.     He  was  fre 
quently  selectman,  besides  holding  other  town  offices. 
Cornet  of  the   Hampshire   Troop  of  Horse  in  1695,  he 
held  the  commission  of  lieutenant  1705-1715. 

(3)  Deacon  Samuel  Dickinson,  born  in  Hadley  1682, 
but  removing  to  Shutesbury,  where  he  died  in  1747.     He, 
too,  held  various  town  offices. 

(4)  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  born  in  Hadley  1721.     He 
was  one  amongst  the  earliest  settlers  of  Amherst,  pur 
chasing  in  1742  the  farm  on  which  Walter  Dickinson  was 
born,  and  passing  away  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  85  in  1806. 

(5)  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  Jr.,  born  on  the  family 
homestead  in  1750.     He  and  David  Parsons,  Jr.,  son  of 
the  tory  parson,  were  the  first  natives  of  Amherst  to  re 
ceive  a  college  education,  graduating  at  Harvard  in  1771. 
Studying  law  with  Major  Hawley  at  Northampton,  that 
great  patriot  and  leader  of  the  Hampshire  bar,  he  prac 
ticed  law  in  Amherst.    A  man  of  forceful  character  and 
brilliant  intellect,  he  became  the  acknowledged  leader  of 
the    town    during    the    Revolution,    was    chairman    of 
the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  member  of  several 
of  the  Provincial  Congresses,  and  served  the  town  for 
many  years  as  clerk,  treasurer  and  moderator  of  its 
meetings. 

(6)  Walter  Dickinson,  1784-1850,  lived  and  died  on 
the  family  homestead. 

10 


(7)  Captain  Marquis  F.  Dickinson,  born  1814,  and 
still  living  on  the  old  homestead;  captain  of  the  Amherst 
Artillery  Company. 

(8)  Captain  Walter  Mason  Dickinson,  3  April,  1856, 
—2  July,  1898. 

(a)  In  collateral  branches  appears  the  name  of  John 
Dickinson  of  East  Amherst,  great-grandfather  to  Walter 
M.  through  the  marriage  of  his    daughter    to    Walter 
Dickinson  (No.  6.)     He  took  part  in  the  battle  of  Bun 
ker  Hill.    Born  in  1757,  he  died  in  1850  at  the  advanced 
age  of  93,  the  last  surviving  Revolutionary  soldier  of 
Amherst.     Strong  in  body,  he  retained  his  mental  facul 
ties  to  the  last,  delighting  to  rehearse  the  stirring  scenes 
of  his  earlier  life.     How  often  must  young  Walter  have 
listened  with  kindling  eye  and  beating  heart  to  the  story 
of  that  glorious  June  morning  in  1775,  as  told  him  by  his 
father  or  elder  brother,  who  had  in  turn  listened  to  it  as 
it  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  aged  patriot. 

(b)  Asa  Williams  of  Shutesbury,  maternal  grand 
father  of  Walter  M.   Born  about  1758  in  Norwich,  Conn.,, 
he  served  for  three  years  in  the  Connecticut  line,  in  the 
army  under  General  Washington.     He  took  part  in  the 
retreat  across  the  Jerseys,  spent  that  winter  of  unspeak 
able  suffering  at  Valley  Forge,  and  participated  in  the 
crossing  of  the   Delaware  and  the  capture  of  the  Hes 
sians  at  Trenton.    He  died  about   1830  in  the  town  of 
Shutesbury. 

(c)  Josiah  Pease,  maternal  great-grandfather,  was 
also  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  army. 

Through  intermarriages  the  Dickinson  family  is 
allied  to  many  of  the  original  settlers  of  Hadley.  Among 
them  may  be  noted  such  familiar  names  as  Marsh,  East 
man,  Cowles,  Smith,  Ingram,  Boltwood,  Montague,  and 

ii 


on  the  Connecticut  side  the  families  of  Foote,  Colton, 
and  Governor  John  Webster. 

From  such  an  ancestry  as  this — mothers  who  thought 
there  were  things  more  to  be  dreaded  for  their  sons  than 
death  and  "who  had  leve  they  were  fayre  beryed  than 
lost  for  default"— fathers  steadfast  in  their  religious  be 
lief—unshaken  in  their  political  opinions — staking  their 
lives  in  defense  of  their  convictions — representing  the 
best  blood  in  the  country — that  pure  New  England 
stock,  tough  in  fibre,  which  might  bend  but  never  break, 
Walter  Dickinson  derived  his  origin.  No  wonder  that 
with  such  a  record  behind  him,  he  "showed  the  mettle  of 
his  pasture  and  that  he  was  worth  the  breeding"  on  every 
field  where  duty  led  him.  To  have  acted  in  any  other 
way  would  have  been  to  utterly  belie  the  traditions  of 
three  hundred  years. 

When  I  first  knew  him  he  was  a  little  curly-headed 
lad,  who  standing  at  my  knee  and  asking  all  manner  of 
questions  about  the  civil  war  used  to  declare  that  he  was 
going  to  run  away  and  become  either  a  sailor  or  a  soldier 
in  the  cavalry.  Prophetic  utterance !  The  dream  of  the 
boy  became  the  reality  of  the  man,  and  what  in  his 
childish  heart  he  had  longed  to  be,  found  its  fulfillment 
in  the  chosen  profession  of  his  life.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  how  unconsciously  all  through  his  life,  there  was 
the  same  strong  under-current  of  patriotic  feeling,  only 
occasionally  coming  to  the  surface.  The  crude  composi 
tion  of  his  sophomore  year  on  "The  greatness  of  the 
United  States "  and  its  ability  to  conquer  any  other 
nation— his  fondness  for  the  study  of  American  history, 
not  merely  at  the  Academy,  but  I  may  add,  to  the  very 
close  of  his  life — the  hearty  emphatic  support  of  Presi 
dent  Cleveland's  attitude  on  the  Venezuelan  question, 

12 


found  its  fitting  culmination  in  the  noble  words  pro 
nounced  in  this  very  chapel  at  the  memorial  service  for 
Governor  Greenhalge.  They  will  bear  repeating  and  I 
would  that  every  young  man  listening  to  me  to-day  would 
take  them  to  his  heart  and  grave  them  there  as  with  a 
pen  of  iron.  Speaking  of  the  higher  duty,  he  says — 
"That  duty  is  the  one  you  owe  to  your  country.  By  your 
country  I  do  not  mean  this  small  space,  crossed  and  re- 
crossed  by  the  beautiful  and  granite-capped  hills  which 
so  closely  encircle  us,  but  I  speak  of  a  country,  a  part  of 
whose  wide  domain  is  always  in  sunlight,  extending  west 
ward  from  the  storm-washed  rocks  of  the  New  England 
shore  to  the  farthest  extremities  of  the  Aleutian  Isles— 
from  the  present  frozen  shores  of  the  great  lakes  to  the 
ever  tropical  climate  of  the  Mexican  gulf — a  country 
with  seventy  millions  of  people — a  country  of  free  speech 
and  free  religion — a  country  covered  with  schools  and 
churches — a  country  to  be  proud  of ;  a  country  to  re 
spect  ;  and,  above  all,  if  needs  be,  a  country  to  die  for. 
This  is  the  spirit  which  should  be  taught  in  all  our  pub 
lic  schools,  encouraged  at  the  fireside  and  in  the  churches, 
that  the  aim  of  every  boy  and  young  man  might  be  to 
make  this  our  common  country  united — one  for  all,  for 
in  unison  only  is  there  strength.  Then  the  day  will 
surely  come  when  one  could  wish  no  other  epitaph  than 
this — lHe  lived  and  died  an  American  citizen?  "  He 
had  learned  well  the  lesson  that  the' civic  virtues,  the  duty 
man  owes  to  the  State  towers  above  all  else.  Like  An 
drew  Fletcher,  he  could  exclaim — "I  would  readily  lose 
my  life  to  serve  my  country,  but  would  not  do  a  base 
thing  to  save  it." 

Entering  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  in 
September,  1873,  he  pursued  the  regular  course  for  nearly 

13 


three  years,  leaving  in  his  junior  year  to  accept  an  appoint 
ment  to  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  offered 
him  by  President  Julius  H.  Seelye,  who  was  then  in  Con 
gress.  He  entered  June  14,  1876.  Of  his  life  there  and 
the  impression  made,  let  his  classmates  bear  witness.  Of 
the  many  letters  received,  I  can  only  make  use  of  a  few, 
just  enough  to  give  you  an  inside  view  of  the  man  in  this 
formative  period  of  life.  "I  remember  him  as  being  a 
high-strung  young  fellow,  conscientious  and  energetic  in 
the  performance  of  his  duty,  and  just  the  kind  of  man 
whom  you  would  expect  to  be  at  his  post  of  duty  in  an 
emergency."  "Generous,  honest"  and  unselfish — inflexi 
ble  in  his  adherence  to  truth,  he  made  friends  wherever 
he  went."  "Dickinson  had  a  Ipvely  Hispnaitinn  which 
made  him  most  congenial  Company.  He  always  did  his 
very  best  wherever  he  was  put,  and  as  a  soldier  always 
did  his  duty.  He  was  beloved  by  his  men  and  respected 
by  ETs  fellow  officers."  "He  learned  easily,  took  good 
rank  in  his  class  and  was  universally  popular.  Bright, 
genial  and  a  good  soldier,  he  was  a  most  welcome  addi 
tion  to  any  circle.  Transferred  from  the  cavalry  to  the 
Seventeenth  Infantry  and  serving  up  to  the  time  of  his 
glorious,  but  regretted  death,  at  the  front  of  his  troops, 
where  he  voluntarily  placed  himself,  despite  the  fact  that 
.his  duties  as  a  quartermaster  appointed  his  place  in  the 
rear,  his  soldierly  instincts  and  sense  of  duty  prevailed 
with  that  sad  result.  A  soldier,  a  gentleman  and  a 
scholar.  God  rest  his  soul !"  "My  classmate  Dickinson 
has  always  been  the  same  sunny,  light-hearted  boy  he 
appeared  to  be  when  we  reported  at  West  Point  in  1876. 
The  last  long  talk  I  had  with  him  was  at  Tampa,  dis 
cussing  the  projected  campaign.  He  was  eager  for  the 
active  service  and  looked  forward  with  high  hopes  to 

14 


our  immediate  success  with  the  efficient  army  then  or 
ganizing.  'Dick,'  as  we  were  wont  to  call  him  among 
ourselves,  was  naturally  a  great  favorite  in  his  class  and 
among  his  brother  officers,  and  withal  he  was  a  most 
efficient  officer.  The  loss  on  the  day  of  July  i,was  so 
heavy  and  immediate  to  us  that  at  first  I  hardly  appre 
ciated  that  we  had  lost  our  classmate,  but  as  time  goes 
on,  I  find  that  I  miss  him  the  more,  as  my  mind  is  capa 
ble  of  appreciating  the  fact  that  we  can  never  hope  to  see 
again  his  cheery  smile  or  hear  his  hearty  laugh."  What 
higher  commendation  can  a  marPseelc  'tHanTriis?  Con 
scientious  in  the  discharge  of  duty — Doing  his  best  in 
whatever  position  placed — Inflexible  in  his  adherence  to 
truth — A  soldier,  gentleman  and  scholar — these  are  no 
uncertain  words  of  praise.  They  represent  the  noblest 
ideals  and  highest  conceptions  of  duty. 

Graduating  from  the  Academy,  June,  1880,  he  was 
assigned  as  Second  Lieutenant  to  the  Fourth  U.  S. 
Cavalry.  At  last  his  boyish  dreams  were  realized  and  he 
was  in  truth  a  member  of  that  gallant  army  in  which  he 
took  so  much  pride.  The  next  eleven  years  were  busy 
ones  for  our  young,  untried  officer.  We  catch  glimpses 
of  him  now  in  the  field  against  the  Indians  and  now  in 
garrison  on  some  lone  frontier  post — now  doing  duty  as 
quartermaster  and  now  on  recruiting  service.  But  wher 
ever  placed,  the  same  record  for  efficiency  and  thorough 
ness  follows  him.  He  was  complimented  by  General 
Ruger  for  a  forced  march,  made  alone  with  fifty  Indian 
scouts,  covering  the  distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  from  San  Carlos  agency  to  Sipa,  New  Mexico,  in 
three  days,  the  Indians  running  by  the  side  of  his  horse. 
And  his  captain  writes — "He  was  unusually  attentive  to 
duty  and  thorough  in  all  that  he  did.  I  always  consid- 

15 


ered  him  a  brave,  true  man,  extremely  sincere  in  his 
attachments  and  relations  with  others.  He  was  a  de 
voted  husband,  and  just  and  generous  in  all  his  relations 
with  his  friends."  The  following  brief  synopsis  of  his 
army  life,  furnished  by  a  brother  officer,  gives  continuity 
to  the  picture: — 

"Upon  graduation  he  was  assigned  to  the  4th  U.  S. 
Cavalry,  joining  his  troop  at  Fort  Sill,  Indian  Territory 
(the  Kiowa  and  Comanche  Reservation).  From  the 
Indian  Territory  the  regiment  was  ordered  to  Colorado, 
keeping  in  check  the  Utes;  then  to  New  Mexico  for  gar 
rison  duty,  which  at  that  time  meant  continuous  field 
service  against  the  Apaches.  After  three  years'  service 
he  was  detailed  to  the  Infantry  and  Cavalry  School  at 
Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  After  graduation  he  was 
retained  at  the  post  until  1886,  when  with  his  troop  he 
was  again  ordered  to  New  Mexico. 

Receiving  his  promotion  to  a  First  Lieutenancy, 
September  i,  1886,  he  was  ordered  to  Fort  Huachuca, 
Arizona,  then  to  the  Cavalry  Depot,  Jefferson  Barracks, 
Mo.,  again  to  Arizona,  remaining  there  until  the  regiment 
was  ordered  to  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  1891  he  transferred 
to  the  1 7th  Infantry  and  was  stationed  at  Fort  D.  A. 
Russell,  Wyoming.  From  this  post  he  was  detailed  to 
Amherst,  Mass.,  as  Professor  of  Military  Science  at  the 
Massachusetts  Agricultural  College.  After  a  tour  of 
service  at  this  college  he  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Colum 
bus  Barracks,  Ohio,  remaining  on  duty  at  that  post  until 
the  late  declaration  of  war  when  he  was  ordered  to  active 
service  in  Cuba.  At  this  time  he  was  the  Regimental 
Quartermaster,  appointed  April  i,  1898,  receiving  his 
promotion  to  a  captaincy  April  26,  1898,  which  was  con 
firmed  by  the  Senate,  after  his  death,  July  14,  1898. 

16 


Captain  Dickinson  was  stationed  at  a  number  of 
posts  during  his  service,  the  following  being  a  partial 
list: — Fort  Sill,  Indian  Territory,  Forts  Cummings,  Bay 
ard,  and  Stanton,  N.  M.,  Forts  McDowell,  Huachuca, 
and  Bowie,  Arizona,  Fort  Walla  Walla,  Wash.,  Presidio 
of  San  Francisco  and  Yosemite  National  Park,  Califor 
nia,  Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  Wyoming,  Jefferson  Barracks, 
Mo.,  and  Columbus  Barracks,  Ohio." 

One  last  picture  of  the  dashing  cavalryman  we  have, 
drawn  by  the  hand  of  one  who  was  in  action  with  him, 
and  we  see  him  just  where  we  should  expect  to  see  him, 
in  the  forefront  of  the  battle,  leading  a  charge  against 
the  lurking  Apaches: — "We  were  in  but  one  Indian  fight 
together,  at  Horse  Shoe  Canon,  on  the  Arizona-Mexican 
line,  April  22,  1882.  The  Indians  occupied  a  strong  posi 
tion  on  a  high  bluff  which  we  finally  carried  by  assault. 
In  the  assault,  Walter  was  the  very  first  to  reach  the 
summit,  and  I  well  remember  as  the  line  of  his  troop 
swept  up  the  hill,  he  was  the  forward  apex  of  a  triangle, 
of  which  the  two  sides  were  formed  of  the  men  of  his 
troop  on  his  right  and  left  rear." 

Transferred  at  his  own  request  November  4,  1891, 
to  the  i ;th  Regiment,  U.  S.  Infantry,  he  remained  in 
this  new  branch  of  the  service  only  a  brief  nine  months, 
and  was  then  detailed  as  military  instructor  to  the  Massa 
chusetts  Agricultural  College.  Why  should  I  dwell  upon 
his  work  here?  Is  it  not  known  to  you  all?  The  pains 
he  took  in  bringing  up  the  battalion  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  excellence,  eliciting  from  the  Army  Inspector 
the  comment — "The  youngster  has  done  well" — the  in 
terest  he  took  in  every  man  of  his  command — the  solid 
conscientious  work  he  put  into  his  duty  ?  Who  of  you 
that  ever  saw  him  walk  across  the  parade  ground  as  if  he 


owned  the  very  ffroun,d  he  trod  upon,  but  recognized  that 
he  was  a  leader  among  men?    Who  that  ever  saw  him  \ 
handle  the  cadets  and  watched  the  animation  and  the 
force"witK  whicn  he  drilled  them,  but  recognized  the  born 
soldier?      DIWMpnre,  imp]jrit  ohpHi^nce  he  demanded. 


Unstinted  praise  he  gave  when  merited.  Sharp,  stinging 
rebuke  when  deserved.  But  with  all  this  the  boys  like.d 
him—  navr  more,  thev  loved  him  while  they  feared  him. 
That  same  nameless  charm  of  personality  which  lecTnis 
brother  officers  to  call  him  "Dickie,"  charmed  them,  and 
their  admiration  for  the  man  blossomed  into  affection 
for  the  friend.  How  completely  he  won  their  hearts  this 
extract  from  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the  graduates, 
speaks  eloquently  —  "I  am  grateful  for  the  opportunity 
to  help  in  this  memorial.  The  deep  personal  interest  he^ 
took  in  each  of  us  who  came  under  his  instruction  and 
discipline,  his  complete  devotion  to  duty,  to  the  battalion, 
to  the  whole  college;  his  sorrow  at  our  shortcomings  and 
his  pride  at  our  successes,  made  us  regard  him  with 
more  than  ordinary  feelings  as  our  friend.  His  last  words 
to  our  class  in  our  class-room  were  so  characteristic  of 
him  that  I  will  repeat  them  as  nearly  as  my  memory  will 
allow:—  'If  you  ever  come  where  I  am,  come  and  see  me 
—  I'll  try  and  make  it  pleasant  for  you  —  If  you  are  ever 
in  trouble,  let  me  know  —  I'll  try  and  help  you.  Good 
bye'—  and  he  was  gone  from  the  recitation  room  to  his 
office.  Every  man  in  that  room  knew  he  meant  just  what 
he  said  and  that  he  meant  it  to  apply  to  him.  The  col 
lege  has  lost  a  good  champion  and  the  country  a  noble 
officer."  The  words  of  parting  to  the  class  that  had 
been  under  his  instruction  for  four  years  convey  so 
clearly  his  own  conception  of  duty  that  I  know  you  will 
bear  with  me  a  moment  longer  while  I  repeat  them  — 


U/f 

"Young  gentlemen,  the  time  has  now  come  when  we 
are  to  separate,  and  there  are  a  few  things  that  I  take 
occasion  to  say  to  you,  because  I  shall  never  have  the 
opportunity  again.  I  came  here  from  twelve  years  con 
tinuous  army  service  on  the  Plains  beyond  the  Missis 
sippi.  You  thought,  perhaps,  I  was  rather  a  rough  fel 
low.  My  way  of  dealing  with  you  at  first  seemed,  prob 
ably,  somewhat  severe.  I  tried  to  teach  you  lessons  of 
unquestioning  obedience,  for  obedience  is  the  first  duty 
of  a  soldier;  but  I  think  you  have  learned  to  understand 
me,  as  I  have  learned  to  understand  you,  and  our  rela 
tions,  on  the  whole,  have  been  very  pleasant.  And  now 
as  you  leave  the  college  to  go  out  into  the  world,  I  wish 
to  say  two  or  three  things  which  I  trust  you  will  not  for 
get.  The  first  is—  Remember  always  to  be  a  gentleman. 
Second  —  Be  truthful.  Always  truthful.  No  man  can  be 
a  true  soldier  on  any  other  basis.  Third  —  Wherever  you 
are  placed,  under  whatever  circumstances  and  on  every 
occasion,  be  true  to  yourselves;  and  last,  whatever  you 
find  to  do  in  the  world,  give  to  it  the  best  that  is  in  you 
and  do  it  for  all  you  are  worth."  Homely  words,  tersely 
expressed,  but  striking  out  straight  from  the  shoulder  to 
the  mark.  What  Christopher  North  calls  "A  cut  and 
thrust  style,  without  any  flourish.  Scott's  style  when  his 
blood  was  up  and  the  first  words  came  like  a  van-guard 
impatient  for  battle." 

A  man  is  judged  not  by  the  place  he  fills,  but  by  the 
way  in  which  he  fills  it.  He  was  an  unknown  quantity 
as  far  as  instructing  was  concerned,  and  when  he  found 
that  he  really  could  teach,  he  suddenly  woke  to  a  con 
sciousness  that  life  had  a  deeper  meaning  for  him  than 
he  had  ever  realized  before.  It  was  most  stimulating 
to  hear  his  enthusiasm  over  his  new  work.  He  went 


iL  £...1  faJ,  j[ 


at  it  in  the  same  conscientious  manner  in  which  he  per 
formed  every  duty,  but  there  was  added  to  that  a  won 
dering  delight  in  his  new-found  powers.  He  studied 
international  law — he  worked  at  constitutional  history 
and  called  upon  all  the  resources  of  his  previous  years 
of  reading  American  history  to  prepare  himself  the  bet 
ter  for  the  lecture  room.  In  fact — "his  work  at  the  col 
lege  was  so  well  done  that  it  seems  as  if  he  could  sleep 
better  in  the  soil  of  the  town  where  he  did  one  piece  of 
thoroughly  finished  work  and  for  which  he  is  sure  to  be 
remembered." 

Rejoining  his  regiment  in  1896,  he  served  with  it  for 
the  next  eighteen  months  at  Columbus,  Ohio.  Then 
came  the  call  to  arms  and  with  it  his  appointment  as 
Quartermaster,  and  the  movement  of  the  regiment  to 
Tampa  and  thence  to  Cuban  soil.  When  Baiquiri  was 
reached,  the  regiment  marched  on  and  he  was  left  to 
unload  the  stores  and  baggage.  Chafing  under  his  forced 
inactivity  and  hearing  that  a  battle  was  imminent,  he  left 
the  ship  and  rejoined  the  regiment  Monday,  June  27,  five 
miles  from  Santiago.  Being  ordered  by  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  to  return  and  finish  the  unloading,  he  made  his 
way  back  on  the  following  day  to  the  shore,  completed 
his  task,  and  once  more — late  on  the  night  of  June  29— 
reached  his  command.  On  Thursday  the  army  ad 
vanced,  and  that  night  the  regiment  bivouacked  so  near 
the  enemy  that  fires  were  not  allowed  to  be  lit  and  the 
utmost  quiet  was  enjoined  that  their  position  might  not 
be  betrayed.  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  details  of 
the  battle  of  El  Caney.  That  has  already  been  done  by 
abler  pens  than  mine.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  El  Caney  is 
a  small  village  cresting  a  hill  three  and  a  half  miles  north 
east  of  San  Juan,  three  miles  north  of  El  Poso  and  five 

20 


or  six  miles  northeast  of  Santiago.  In  the  native  lan 
guage  it  signifies  "the  tomb,"  because  upon  this  hill  were 
buried  many  of  the  ancient  inhabitants — a  fit  name  for 
the  battle-field  where  so  many  of  our  bravest  found  their 
last  resting  place.  On  that  fatal  morning  no  one  was 
calmer  or  more  cheerful  than  Lieutenant  Dickinson.  No 
fear  nor  disturbing  thought  seemed  to  enter  his  mind, 
and  he  made  his  few  preparations  for  the  advance  as 
quietly  and  with  the  same  care  as  if  going  on  parade. 
His  duties  as  Quartermaster  did  not  require  his  presence 
at  the  front,  but  he  could  not  bear  to  remain  at  the  rear 
and  not  share  the  dangers  of  his  comrades.  Going  to 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Haskell  he  said — "Colonel,  I  want  to 
go  with  you  to-day,"  and  from  that  time,  with  the  excep 
tion  of  two  short  intervals,  during  which  he  was  carrying 
orders,  never  left  his  side  until  he  received  his  death 
wound.  The  brigade  was  in  motion  shortly  before  day 
break,  painfully  making  its  way  over  the  narrow,  slippery 
paths  and  climbing  the  grassy  ridge  overlooking  the  vil 
lage.  The  Twelfth  and  the  Seventh  regiments  first  de 
ployed  and  took  position.  Then  came  the  order  for  the 
Seventeenth  to  place  itself  on  the  right  of  the  Seventh. 
Cautiously  advancing  in  single  file,  it  struck  the  sunken 
road  running  parallel  to  the  northeast  slopes  of  El  Caney. 
It  was  commanded  by  block  houses  at  either  end,  and  in 
front  was  an  open  country  swept  by  the  Spanish  marks 
men.  The  hedge  along  the  road  was  strongly  interlaced 
with  barbed  wire.  The  Colonel  directed  this  to  be  cut, 
and  through  the  opening  passed  out  into  the  field  beyond, 
attended  only  by  Dickinson.  In  an  instant  this  drew 
upon  them  the  fire  from  a  hundred  unseen  guns.  What 
followed  is  best  described  in  the  words  of  the  Colonel, 
taken  from  a  private  letter,  written  a  short  time  before 

21 


his  death : — "Captain  Dickinson's  death  wound  was  re 
ceived  at  the  same  moment  I  was  shot  through  the  left 
breast.  He  then  received  a  bullet  through  his  right  arm 
at  the  same  instant  I  was  shot  through  the  knee.  This 
shot  knocked  me  down,  and  seeing  me  fall  he  ran  toward 
the  men  and  told  them  to  'Go  and  bring  in  the  Colonel.' 
In  other  words,  he  did  not  leave  my  side  till  he  had 
been  wounded  twice."  It  is  only  right  to  say  that  all 
other  accounts  report  Captain  Dickinson  as  being  shot 
first  in  the  arm,  and  seeing  the  Colonel  fall  he  went  back 
for  help,  and  on  his  return  received  his  fatal  wound. 
The  weight  of  evidence  would  seem  to  indicate  that  this 
is  the  correct  version.  Placed  in  a  litter  and  receiving 
such  aid  as  was  possible  on  the  field,  he  remained  all 
day  exposed  to  the  bullets  of  the  sharpshooters,  being 
wounded  a  third  time  in  the  fleshy  part  of  the  leg,  and  a 
little  later  grazed  in  the  arm  and  ear.  Who  can  tell  the 
agony  of  that  long  day  in  the  burning  heat  of  a  tropic 
sun !  But  his  courage  never  faltered  and  he  greeted  each 
comrade  with  a  wan  smile  and  pressure  of  the  hand. 
"Heroes  are  forged  on  anvils  hot  with  pain 
And  splendid  courage  conies  but  with  the  test." 

It  is  a  beautiful  incident  that  as  he  lay  there,  at 
intervals  amid  the  crash  and  uproar  of  the  battle,  there 
came  to  his  ears  the  familiar  sounds  of  his  childhood. 
In  the  village  but  a  few  hundred  yards  distant  the  cack 
ling  of  hens  and  the  crowing  of  cocks  could  be  distinctly 
heard.  The  Bob  Whites  were  calling  to  their  mates,  and 
the  hoodios,  a  species  of  daw,  flying  from  tree  to  tree 
were  calling  in  strange,  but  pleasant  notes. 

Removed  to  the  field  hospital,  he  seemed  troubled  at 
the  presence  of  so  many  wounded  men,  and  at  his  own 
request  was  placed  in  a  small  shelter  tent  under  a  mango 

22 


tree.  And  here,  watched  over  by  his  faithful  sergeant, 
George  Kaltschmidt,  he  lingered  on  through  that  soft 
moonlit  night  till  the  end  came. 

An  hour  before  the  dawn  the  forest  birds  stir  un 
easily  in  their  sleep.  They  are  dreaming  of  the  day.  An 
hour  before  the  dawn,  his  trembling  spirit,  struggling 
from  its  mortal  frame,  flew  upward  and  found  rest.  The 
dawn  of  that  great  day  which  comes  to  all  alike,  had 
come  to  him,  and  on  his  wondering  eyes  there  broke  the 
glories  of  a  never-ending  life. 

My  friends,  "there  is  no  heroic  poem  in  the  world 
but  is  at  bottom  a  biography,  the  life  of  a  man ;  and  also 
it  may  be  said,  there  is  no  life  of  a  man  faithfully 
recorded,  but  is  a  heroic  poem  of  its  sort."  Walter 
Dickinson  was  a  man  like  unto  ourselves — a  man  of  like 
weaknesses  and  passions,  but  this  biography  is  written  in 
our  hearts,  and  in  our  hearts  rings  on  forever  the  poem 
of  his  strong  young  life. 

Chaplain  Trumbull  in  one  of  his  "War  Memories" 
has  a  chapter  devoted  to  "the  soldier  heart  buttoned 
over  by  the  soldier  coat,"  and  tells  the  following  inci 
dent  :  —Being  called  upon  one  day  to  conduct  burial  ser 
vices  over  two  men  who  had  died  in  the  hospital,  he  was 
greatly  shocked  as  he  entered  the  hall  where  the  bodies 
were  lying  at  the  apparently  unfeeling  manner  of  their 
comrades,  who  were  jesting  and  laughing  as  though 
nothing  unusual  had  occurred.  But  in  the  midst  of  their 
chattering,  one  suddenly  turned  to  the  other  and  said — 
"  Jem,  have  you  cut  a  lock  of  Bill's  hair  ?  I  reckon  his 
mother  would  like  it.  My  mother  would."  It  was  a  reve 
lation  to  him,  for  underneath  the  rough  exterior  he  recog 
nized  the  soldier  heart  beneath  the  coat,  beating  true  to 
the  mother  love  of  his  boyhood's  days.  Somebody's 

23 


mother  wanted  a  lock  of  her  boy's  hair,  and  he  remem 
bered  it  because  he  too  had  a  mother.  Soldiers  do  not 
like  to  display  any  emotion.  Their  rigid  discipline  has 
taught  them  to  be  calm  and  self-contained,  and  they 
carefully  repress  any  signs  of  outward  feeling.  It  is  not 
shame.  Only  a  desire  to  conceal  from  the  world  the 
aching  heart.  Walter  Dickinson  was  no  exception  to 
this  rule.  The  deeper  feelings  of  his  nature  seldom,  if  ever, 
came  to  the  surface.  On  the  very  eve  of  leaving  for  Cuba, 
with  all  the  uncertainties  of  an  active  campaign  staring 
him  in  the  face,  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  speak  of  it, 
and  it  was  only  in  the  last  letter  before  sailing  from 
Tampa,  that  the  mask  was  thrown  aside  and  he  penned 
a  brief  farewell  to  his  brothers  and  sisters,  commending 
to  their  tender  love  his  wife.  Not  more  than  a  dozen 
lines,  but  all  the  same  it  was  the  human  cry  of  "  the  sol 
dier  heart  buttoned  over  by  the  soldier  coat." 

We  have  said  that  he  was  brave.  When  on  that 
fatal  morning  he  said—"  Colonel,  I  want  to  go  with  you 
to-day,"  it  was  with  full  knowledge  of  the  risk  he  ran. 
He  had  been  in  battle  before.  He  had  heard  the  spite 
ful  hiss  of  bullets  and  had  seen  men  struck  down  around 
him.  But  his  keen  sense  of  duty  would  not  allow  him  to 
remain  behind  in  safety  when  he  might  be  of  service  as 
one  of  the  Colonel's  staff.  There  is  a  moral  bravery 
which  far  transcends  that  of  the  battlefield.  The  one  is 
of  the  earth,  earthy.  The  other  is  of  the  spirit,  heavenly. 
He  possessed  both.  Whatever  interfered  with  his  use 
fulness  must  be  overcome,  and  when  once  he  had  made 
up  his  mind,  no  power  on  earth  could  move  him.  In 
temptation  oft,  beset  by  enticing  snares,  his  courage 
stood  the  test.  The  Good  Book  says—"  He  that  ruleth 
his  spirit  is  better  than  he  that  taketh  a  city."  Verily  he 

24 


showed  in  this  a  moral  force  and  rugged  strength  that 
clothes  his  life  with  nobility  and  beauty.  The  hero  liv 
ing  for  a  principle.  The  hero  dying  for  his  country. 
Each  in  itself  beautiful— each  the  necessary  complement 
of  the  other — together  rounding  out  the  perfect  life  of 
the  man.  Alas,  that  such  men  must  die  !  Alas,  that  they 
are  snatched  from  us  too  soon ! 

"  Not  like  some  drooping  flower,  that  no  man  noticeth, 

But  like  the  great  branch  of  some  stately  tree 

Rent  in  a  tempest,  and  flung  down  to  death, 

Thick  with  green  foliage— so  that  piteously 

Each  passer-by  that  ruin  shuddereth, 

And  saith  '  The  gap  this  branch  hath  left  is  wide 

The  loss  thereof  can  never  be  supplied.' " 

One  sentence  among  the  tributes  to  his  memory  has 
deeply  stirred  me.  It  runs  thus  : — "  Please  accept  my 
thanks  as  an  Army  officer  for  your  interest  in  and  desire 
to  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  fellow  officer  who  sac 
rificed  his  life  in  his  country's  service.  It  is  the  knowl 
edge  that  friends  at  home  do  not  forget,  that  encour 
ages  the  soldier  in  the  field  and  gives  to  him  the  feeling 
that  he  is  truly  a  champion  of  the  people  and  not  a  hire 
ling.  It  is  sentiment  that  wins  our  battles,  not  brute 
courage  or  love  of  carnage." 

That  gallant  army  to  which  Walter  Dickinson 
belonged  and  of  which  he  was  so  justly  proud  is  an  army 
of  trained  and  educated  patriots.  If  "This  war  has 
taught  us  the  morality  of  education"  and  "if  the  schools 
have  fought  it,"  none  the  less  has  it  been  fought  and 
brought  to  a  close  by  that  little  band,  the  regulars, — 
scholars,  patriots  and  soldiers.  The  thinking  bayonet, 
the  scholarly  sword  have  gone  hand  in  hand  with  the 
most  marvelous  exhibitions  of  courage  and  undying 
patriotism.  An  army  of  heroes — bearing  the  summer's 

25 


heat  and  wintry  cold  without  a  murmur— enduring  all 
things — suffering  all  things — with  too  often  the  certainty 
that  politics  and  influence  would  play  their  part  in 
preferment,  rather  than  merit.  Yet  never  for  an  instant 
swerving  from  the  path  of  duty,  though  that  duty  led 
them  unto  death — officers  leading  their  men  and  men 
vicing  with  their  officers— performing  such  prodigies  of 
bravery  that  the  foreign  attache  in  breathless  surprise 
exclaimed — "  This  is  not  war,  but  it  is  magnificent." 
This  is  the  army  we  love  and  admire.  This  is  the  army 
we  cherish  in  our  hearts.  Its  list  "  is  like  the  tower  of 
David,  builded  for  an  armory,  whereon  there  hang  a 
thousand  bucklers,  all  shields  of  mighty  men." 

Out  of  the  mass  of  letters  received,  two  have  seemed 
to  me  especially  fitting  with  which  to  close  this  brief, 
imperfect  sketch  of  his  life  and  work.  The  General 
commanding  the  Division,  Major-General  H.  W.  Lawton, 
writes — "  I  knew  Lieutenant  Dickinson  well  for  some 
years,  and  I  knew  him  to  be  a  patriot  and  a  true  soldier. 
And  though  there  is  no  one  who  laments  his  untimely 
death  more  than  I,  still  we  have  the  happiness  of  know 
ing  that  he  died  like  a  nobleman  and  a  soldier."  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  J.  T.  Haskell,  commanding  the  Seven 
teenth  U.  S.  Infantry,  whose  judgment  is  entitled  to  the 
highest  consideration,  sums  up  his  traits  of  character  in 
these  words :  "  He  was  an  honest,  upright,  honorable 
gentleman,  without  fear  or  reproach  ;  he  had  all  the  qual 
ifications  of  an  excellent  officer ;  well  educated,  refined 
in  his  manners,  prompt  and  energetic  in  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  and  very  conscientious;  his  time  was  well 
spent  with  some  good  object  in  view  ;  a  great  reader,  very 
domestic  in  his  habits ;  his  own  handiwork  added  much 
to  the  comfort  and  beauty  of  his  army  home  which  was 

26 


always  a  delightful  place  for  the  guest.  Unselfish,  he  was 
always  pleased  to  contribute  to  the  enjoyment  of  others. 

He  was  beloved  by  the  officers  and  enlisted  men  of 
his  regiment,  especially  for  his  business  ways  and  just 
treatment  of  all.  An  active  man,  he  loved  field  duty,  and 
his  bravery  in  the  field  was  one  of  his  most  noticeable 
qualifications.  I  loved  him  as  a  brother,  and  his  loss  to 
me  will  always  be  felt  the  same  as  though  he  were  of  my 
blood.  To  the  Regiment,  his  loss  was  a  great  blow.  As 
a  Mason,  he  tried  to  live  up  to  the  principles  of  the 
Fraternity,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  by  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact.  In  writing  as  I  have,  the  desire  has 
been  to  impress  you  with  the  fact  that  Captain  Dickin 
son  was  one  of  a  few  officers,  who,  with  no  lack  of  manly 
or  social  qualifications,  spent  very  few  hours  otherwise 
than  in  doing  his  whole  duty  and  trying  not  only  to  im 
prove  himself,  but  also  his  fellow  comrades.  I  know  he 
loved  to  help  the  college  boys."  Precious  testimony  from 
one  so  soon,  alas,  to  follow  him !  Death  loves  a  shining 
mark,  and  our  hearts  go  out  in  sympathy  to  the  officers 
of  the  Seventeenth  thrice  so  severely  smitten. 

In  our  blundering  short-sightedness  we  call  his  death 
a  needless  sacrifice.  A  sacrifice  of  what?  Can  anything 
good  ever  perish?  It  lives  forever  with  a  vitality  and 
persistence  no  power  can  check,  and  with  an  influence 
widening  as  the  years  roll  on.  "Baseness  is  dissolution, 
nobility  is  resurrection."  The  seed  must  rot,  to  grow  ;. 
every  dying  body  is  such  a  seed.  Can  anything  then  be 
a  needless  sacrifice  in  the  great  providences  of  God  ? 

"There  are  no  errors  in  the  great  eternal  plan, 
And  all  things  work  together  for  the  final  good  of  man." 

What  is  man  that  he  should  try  to  solve  the  purposes 
of  the  Infinite !  His  ways  are  not  as  our  ways  and  what 

27 


now  seems  wrapped  in  darkness  and  impenetrable  mys 
tery,  shines  in  the  after  light  of  a  more  perfect  knowl 
edge  with  a  glory  unsurpassed  and  with  a  meaning  none 
foresaw.  The  Roman  sentinel  found  standing  on  guard 
in  the  place  assigned  him,  when  the  lights  of  Pompeii 
went  out  eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  will  forever  stand 
as  the  type  of  obedience  even  unto  death.  To  desert  his 
post  was  perhaps  to  save  his  life.  To  stay  was  seemingly 
a  needless  sacrifice.  But  duty  triumphed  over  fear,  and 
the  world  for  a  score  of  centuries  has  been  the  brighter 
for  his  example.  The  dying  martyrs  racked  and  tor 
tured  for  their  faith,  with  glazing  eye  and  quivering 
frame  looking  upward  into  heaven  prayed  God  to  bless 
their  persecutors  -  "Another  Christian  dead  "  was  the 
contemptuous  remark.  But  the  eloquent  Presbyter  of 
Carthage,  catching  the  true  meaning  of  this  steadfast 
adherence  to  duty,  gazed  down  the  long  vistas  of  the 
coming  centuries  and  exclaimed — "The  blood  of  martyrs 
is  the  seed  of  the  church." 

The  Forty-sixth  and  Fifty-first  Massachusetts  Vol 
unteers  on  the  very  eve  of  being  transported  home,  their 
nine  months'  term  of  service  having  expired,  learning 
that  Lee  had  crossed  the  Rappahannock  and  was  in 
Pennsylvania,  offered  their  services  by  telegraph  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  and  were  accepted.  Will  any  one  dare 
to  say  that  this  was  a  needless  sacrifice?  No  legal  claim 
could  hold  them — Home  with  its  thousand  blessed  mem 
ories  was  before  them — every  consideration  of  love  and 
family  was  urging  their  return.  But  duty  triumphed  over 
inclination,  intense  loyalty  over  affection,  and  today  a 
grateful  and  united  nation  rise  up  and  call  them  blessed. 
There  is  a  conventional  morality  that  amounts  to  nothing 
more  than  legality.  It  does  nothing  but  what  it  can  show 

28 


the  warrant  for.  It  is  incapable  of  judging  self  sacrifice. 
In  the  high  moments  of  a  man's  life  it  disappears  alto 
gether.  Duty  takes  command  and  ,  has  no  thought  of 
consequences,  and  duty  never  throws  away  a  human  life. 
Living  or  dead,  self  sacrifice  is  not  only  in  God's  hand, 
but  by  his  command.  And  there  is,  there  can  be  no 
needless  sacrifice.  The  law  may  not  command  an  officer 
to  be  with  his  regiment  in  battle,  but  if  his  sense  of  duty 
does,  that  is  the  supreme  law,  and  he  is  a  coward  un 
worthy  of  the  place  he  holds,  who  does  not  obey. 

Walter  Dickinson  is  dead,  but  the  good  that  was  in 
him  will  never  die.  The  example  of  that  splendid  cour 
age,  that  intense  devotion  to  country,  that  laying  down  of 
life  for  duty  and  humanity  will  live  forever.  He  bought 
with  his  blood  the  ransom  of  a  nation.  He  baptized 
anew  that  flag 

"Washed  in  the  blood  of  the  brave  and  the  blooming 
Snatched  from  the  altars  of  insolent  foes, 

Blazing  with  star-fires,  but  never  consuming, 
Flash  its  broad  ribbons  of  lily  and  rose." 

The  sunlight  fades  from  off  the  hills.  The  hills  are 
there,  but  the  light  is  gone.  The  kindly  smile  —  the 
pleasant  voice  —  the  hearty  grasp  of  the  hand  warm  from 
the  heart—  these,  indeed,  are  gone;  but  the  remembrance 
of  all  that  is  good  and  noble  and  true  in  thy  life  will 
linger  in  our  hearts  forever.  Rest  in  thy  quiet  sleeping 
place,  beloved  soldier,  friend  and  brother.  Rest  by  the 
side  of  him  thou  loved'st  so  well,  and  for  whose  life  thou 
gav'st  thine  own.  Saul  and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and 
pleasant  in  their,  lives  and  in  their  death  they  were  not. 
divided. 

"The  noblest  place  where  man  can  die 
Is  where  he  dies  for  man." 

HENRY  H.  GOODELL. 


it         B  J     c^      .A   flC 


Statement  of  fHMIitan?  Service  of 

WALTER  MASON  DICKINSON, 

-Compiled  from  the  records  of  the  Adjutant  General's 
office. 


He  was  a  Cadet  at  the  U.  S.  Military  Academy  from 
June  14,  1876,  to  June  12,  1880,  when  he  was  graduated, 
and  subsequently  received  the  following  appointment 
and  promotions: 

2nd  Lieutenant  4th  Cavalry,  12  June,  1880 ; 
ist  "  "          "          i  Sept.,  1886; 

Tranferred  to  iyth  Intantry,  4  Nov.,  1891 ; 
R.  Q.  M.  "          "  i  April,  1898 ; 

Captain  "          "        26  April,  1898. 

Service: 

He  joined  his  troop  Sept.  30,  1880,  and  served  with  it 
at  Fort  Sill,  Okla.,  to  Dec.  3.  1881  ;  at  Fort  Cummings, 
N.  M.,  (on  sick  leave  Sept.  7  to  Nov.  6,  1882)  to  July  i, 
1883 ;  at  Fort  Worth,  Kans.,  to  Oct.  n,  1886;  and  at  Fort 
Huachuca,  Ariz.,  to  Aug.  3,  1887. 

On  duty  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mo.,  Aug.  8,  1887,  to 
Oct.  10,  1889.  He  rejoined  his  regiment  Oct.  15,  1889, 
and  served  at  Fort  McDowell,  Ariz.,  to  Oct.  30,  1889;  at 
Fort  Bowie,  Ariz.,  to  June  9,  1890 ;  at  Fort  Walla  Walla, 

30 


Wash.,  to  Oct.  8,  1891 ;  in  Yosemite  National  Park,  Cal., 
to  Oct.  20,  1891 ;  and  on  leave  Feb.  19,  1892,  when  he 
joined  the  i;th  Inf.,  serving  with  it  at  Fort  D.  A.  Rus 
sell,  Wyo.,  to  June  30,  1892. 

On  duty  as  professor  of  Military  Science  and  Tactics 
at  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College,  Amherst, 
Mass.,  Aug.  16,  1892,  to  Aug.  16,  1896.  He  rejoined  his 
regiment  Aug.  21,  1896,  serving  with  it  at  Columbus  Bar 
racks,  Ohio,  to  April,  1898  ;  at  Tampa,  Fla.,  to  June  14, 
1898 ;  and  en  route  to  and  in  Cuba  to  July  i,  when  he  was 
severely  wounded,  in  the  action  of  El  Caney,  and  of 
which  he  died  July  2,  1898. 

(Signed)  THEO.  SCHWAN, 

Assistant  Adjutant  General. 


To  WALTER  MASON  DICKINSON. 


The  sons  of  those,  whose  valor  once  did  win 

For  liberty  these  hills,  in  heritage 
Of  holy  sepulchers  and  sainted  kin, 

Learn  from  rare  honor,  loftiness  of  soul ; 
And  see,  in  visions  of  the  coming  age, 
Men  free  from  pole  to  pole. 

Holyoke  and  Tom  and  Sugarloaf,  to-night, 

With  all  your  circle  watching  on  the  steep, 
Lift  up  your  summits  in  the  farewell  light 
Radiant  and  beautiful,  as  when  of  old 
You  first  saw  dust  of  heroes  laid  to  sleep 
Here  in  the  valley  mould. 

For  not  in  vain  this  valley  bred  and  gave 

To  liberty,  that  early  day,  a  race, 
And  still  preserves,  a  martyr-shrine,  each  grave 

That  tells  of  pledges  which  were  grandly  kept 
'Mid  freedom's  battle-fires  by  names  we  trace, 
Immortal  since  they  slept. 


I 


Photo  by  LOVELI.,  Amherst 


Taken  Dec.  i,  1895 


So  not  unheard  the  Children  of  the  Isles 

Breathed  to  the  Southern  stars  their  bitter  cry, 
When  Northern  winds  to  these  free  mountain  piles 
Brought  echoes  calling  ever  "Help  and  save!" 
As  one,  the  Nation  answered  "Here  am  I !" 
Her  navies  bridged  the  wave. 

Not  mine  to  speak  the  words  should  fitly  set 
Our  brothers'  deeds,  their  shining  sacrifice, 
Enough,  their  creed  they  kept;  the  foe  they  met; 

And,  conquering,  they  held  it  equal  gain 
To  greet  the  vanquished,  love's  light  in  their  eyes, 
Or  die  in  forest  lane. 

O  Land,  exult !    Thy  flag  of  blood-washed  stars 

Now  blesses  millions  rescued  from  their  chains. 
Give  thy  worn  heroes,  homeward  from  the  wars, 

The  noblest  greeting  ever  paid  their  kind! 
O  Land,  exult  through  all  thy  hills  and  plains 
And  strive  new  praise  to  find ! 

But  some  hear  not.    Forever  ours  the  debt 

For  praise  too  tardy.    We  are  blind  with  tears, 
Tribute  of  love,  but  guiltless  of  regret. 

The  costly  incense  from  our  bruised  hearts  meet, 
While  Honor's  altar-flame  before  us  clears — 
The  sacrifice  complete. 

Behold  the  offering  with  garlands  bright! 

The  boy  whose  school-room  was  this  classic  vale — 
The  youth  with  sunny  hair  that  kept  its  light — 

The  soldier  disciplined  in  school  and  camp — 
The  patriot  whose  passion  could  not  fail, 
Whose  duty  was  his  lamp  ! 

33 


How  mourns  the  sire  whose  son  dares  honor's  height, 

Or  mother  fond  who  pointed  out  the  path? 
Would  grieving  wife  defraud  the  record  bright, 

Or  they  whose  brother  sleeps  on  glory's  field? 
Eternal  fame  has  called  him,  not  in  wrath ; 
We  falter,  weep  and  yield. 

From  grateful  soil  his  blood  made  hallowed  ground, 

His  country's  turf  now  claims  her  warrior's  clay; 
His  name  a  place  in  lasting  bronze  has  found; 

What  further  tribute  left  for  memory? 
Persuasive  silence  pleads  for  him  to-day, 
"Keep  all  he  died  for  free  !  " 


On  broad  Potomac's  kindly  banks, 

Long  opulent  in  heroes'  dust, 
Now  lay  our  soldier  in  their  ranks 

Who  kept  their  country's  trust, 

Near  where  the  Nation's  Founder  sleeps, 
Her  slain  defenders  slumber  round; 

And,  far-seen,  storied  marble  keeps 
Watch  o'er  the  holy  ground. 

There  soft  shall  lie  our  warrior's  head, 
And  rare  the  fellowship  of  clay, 
While  Love  and  Honor  guard  his  bed, 
And  Faith  kneels  there  to  pray. 

ALBERT  BRYANT. 


34 


tribute 

OF  PACIFIC  LODGE  F.  AND  A.  M. 


WALTER  M.  DICKINSON,  a  Brother  and  Past  Master 
of  Pacific  Lodge,  having  laid  down  his  life  for  his  coun 
try  on  the  field  of  battle,  we,  his  brethren  in  the  Lodge, 
while  we  sorrow  that  we  shall  see  his  face,  and  hear  his 
voice,  and  enjoy  his  fellowship  no  longer  here,  do  at  the 
same  time  rejoice  that  he  was  one  of  us  so  long. 

We  remember  him  fraternally  and  gratefully  for  the 
constancy  of  his  attendance  upon  our  communications ; 
for  the  interest  he  manifested  in  all  that  concerned  the 
well-being  of  our  Order ;  and  for  the  ability  and  fidelity 
with  which  all  his  official  responsibilities  were  discharged. 

We  take  pride  in  the  fact  that  our  Lodge  was  so 
worthily  represented  in  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States ;  and  that  he  so  honored  us  as  well  as  himself,  by 
the  courage  and  energy  with  which  he  did  his  duty  down 
to  the  end. 

We  tender  our  tearful  sympathy  to  the  widow,  to  the 
father  and  mother,  and  to  the  surviving  brothers  and 
sisters  of  him  whose  loss  we  do  so  deeply  deplore. 

We  place  this  tribute  to  his  memory  upon  the  records 
of  our  Lodge,  in  order  that  our  brethren  in  coming  years 
may  recognize  his  name  and  fame  as  those  of  a  good 
soldier  as  well  as  worthy  Mason. 

GEORGE  E.  FISHER,  ) 

EDW.  B.  HOLLAND,   >  Committee. 

FRANK  C.  SHERWIN,  ) 

Amherst,  Mass.,  Aug.  30.  1898. 


IResolutions 

OF  Q.  T.  V.  FRATERNITY. 


In  Memory  of  Our  Fraternity  Brother 

WALTER  MASON  DICKINSON 
Who  was  taken  from  us  July  2nd,  1898. 


Whereas,  It  has  pleased  God  in  His  infinite  wisdom 
to  remove  from  our  earthly  sight,  through  the  accidents 
of  war,  our  beloved  brother,  WALTER  MASON  DICKIN 
SON,  and 

Whereas,  We  do  keenly  feel  the  loss  of  him  who 
came  among  us  as  a  student  at  our  college,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Amherst  Chapter  of  the  Q. 
T.  V.  Fraternity,  desire  to  express  our  deepest  regret  at 
the  losing  of  one  of  our  esteemed  brothers,  and  do  hereby 
extend  our  sincere  and  heartfelt  sympathy  to  his  family 
in  this  their  day  of  sorrow.  And  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
the  bereaved  family,  a  copy  to  the  editors  of  Aggie  Life 
to  be  published  in  its  next  issue ;  and  still  another  copy 
to  be  kept  on  file  at  the  Chapter  Rooms. 

D.  A.  BEAMAN,  ) 

F.  G.  STANLEY,  >  Committee. 

T.  CASEY,  ) 


Recorded  Adjutant  Generals 

Office  July  14,  1898. 

//.  C.  Corbin 

Adjutant  General. 


r 


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ft; 
to 


Revised  and  Reprinted  from  The  Amherst  Record 


Captain 


Ulalter  mason  Dickinson 


AMHERST,  MASS. 

CARPENTER  &  MOREHOUSE 
1898 


From  the  Record  of  July  27,  1898. 


LIEUT.  WALTER  M.  DICKINSON, 

KILLED  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  SANTIAGO,  July,  1898. 


When  came  the  nation's  call  to  arms,  we  thought 
That  war's  relentless  hand  would  hold  afar 
Its  iron  weight  from  us.    Alas!  the  scar 

Is  now  within  our  hearts,  we  ne'er  knew  aught. 

From  out  our  number  one  brave  soul  was  sought 
To  die  a  hero's  death.    No  time  can  mar 
Our  memory  of  him,  nor  e'er  debar 

The  lesson  that  his  glorious  death  has  wrought. 

A  soldier  firm  and  true  was  he;  and  one 
Who  knew  the  worth  of  careful  discipline. 

With  smile  and  welcome  hand  for  all,  and  mind 

E'er  filled  with  brightening  thoughts,  he  was  a  son 
Of  Massachusetts.    Thus  he  died  within 

The  heat  of  battle,  and  left  his  all  behind. 

HERMAN  BABSON. 
Agricultural  College. 


From  the  Record  of  July  13,  1898. 


WALTER  MASON  DICKINSON. 


When,  little  more  than  a  month  ago,  Walter  Mason 
Dickinson,  ist  lieutenant  in  the  i;th  regiment  of  U.  S. 
infantry,  writing  from  on  board  a  transport  in  Tampa 
harbor,  said,  as  he  viewed  the  magnificence  of  the  military 
and  naval  pageant  spread  out  before  him,  that  he  would 
not  have  missed  it  for  five  years  of  his  life,  he  little  knew 
that  the  mortal  life  before  him  was  to  be  measured  by 
days,  not  years.  But  had  he  known  it,  had  he  realized  that 
on  the  first  day  of  July,  fighting  with  his  comrades  before 
the  city  of  Santiago,  he  was  to  fall  mortally  wounded 
and  yield  up  his  life  for  his  country  he  would  not  have 
turned  back  but  would  have  performed  his  duty  willingly, 
gladly,  nobly.  He  was  no  untried  soldier,  with  that 
bravery  that  comes  from  lack  of  knowledge  of  the  perils 
and  privations  of  a  soldier's  life.  Others  as  brave,  as 
consecrated  to  their  country's  service,  fell  in  the  battle 
before  Santiago,  but  he  was  Amherst's  first  offering  on 
the  altar  of  her  country  in  the  war  with  Spain  and  it  is 
fitting  that  here,  in  the  town  where  he  was  born,  among 
the  people  with  whom  he  has  so  long  associated,  especial 
tribute  should  be  paid  to  his  character  and  worth 

Walter  Mason  Dickinson  was  a  descendant  in  direct 
line,  and  in  the  eighth  generation,  from  one  of  the  earliest 
settlers  in  Hadley  Third  Precinct  the  mother  town  of 
Amherst.  The  founder  of  the  family  in  America  was 
Nathaniel  Dickinson,  who  was  born  in  England,  and  with 
his  wife  and  three  sons  came  to  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  in 


1636.  The  family  was  one  of  the  first  to  remove  to  Hadley 
after  the  settlement  of  the  village  in  1658. .  He  was  the 
first  recorder  and  a  deacon  in  the  First  church.  The 
line  of  descent  from  this  Nathaniel  is  as  follows:  Nehe- 
miah,  who  married  Mary  Cowles ;  Samuel,  who  married 

Hannah  Marsh;   Nathaniel,  who  married  Thankful ; 

Nathaniel,  Jr.,  who  married  Sarah  Marsh;  Walter,  who 
married  Lydia  Dickinson ;  Marquis  F.,  who  married 
Hannah  S.  Williams;  Walter  Mason.  His  great  grand 
father,  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  Jr.,  was  the  most  prominent 
man  in  Amherst  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Revo 
lution.  He  was  graduated  from  Harvard  college  in  1771, 
studied  law  with  the  distinguished  lawyer  of  Northamp 
ton,  Maj.  Joseph  Hawley,  and  at  the  early  age  of  24 
years  was  elected  a  delegate  from  Amherst  to  the 
first  Provincial  Congress;  he  was  elected  also  to  the 
second  and  third  Congresses  and  was  sent  as  representa 
tive  to  the  General  Court  in  1778,  1780  and  1783.  He 
served  on  Amherst's  committee  of  correspondence,  was 
the  author  of  most  of  the  revolutionary  papers  of  the 
district,  was  moderator  at  town  meetings,  town  clerk  and 
treasurer,  selectman  and  assessor  and  devoted  his  life  to 
public  affairs.  Walter  M.  Dickinson's  maternal  grand 
father  was  Asa  Williams  of  Shutesbury  who  served  in  the 
Continental  army  three  years  under  Gen.  Washington, 
spent  the  winter  at  Valley  Forge  and  was  present  at  the 
capture  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton.  John  Dickinson,  his 
father's  maternal  grandfather,  took  part  in  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  and,  when  he  died  in  Amherst  at  the  age  of 
92,  was  the  last  surviving  Revolutionary  soldier  in  East 
ern  Hampshire.  Mr.  Dickinson's  mother  is  one  of  the 
few  now-living  daughters  of  soldiers  who  fought  in  the 
Revolution. 

42 


Coming  of  such  ancestry,  it  is  small  wonder  that  Walter 
Mason  Dickinson  early  showed  an  inclination  toward 
military  affairs  and  in  1876  eagerly  accepted  an  appoint 
ment  to  the  military  academy  at  West  Point  which  was 
secured  for  him  by  the  late  President  Seelye,  then  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress.  At  that  time  he  was  just  20  years 
old,  and  had  nearly  completed  a  course  at  the  Agricultural 
college.  He  was  graduated  from  West  Point  in  1880, 
ranking  exactly  in  the  middle  of  his  class,  and  was  com 
missioned  2d  lieutenant  in  the  4th  cavalry.  After  gradua 
tion  he  attended  the  cavalry  school  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
where  he  took  high  rank  in  military  tactics.  During  12 
years'  service  in  the  western  department  he  saw  the  harder 
side  of  the  soldier's  life,  and,  in  a  campaign  against  the 
Apaches,  took  part  in  one  severe  battle  and  in  several 
minor  engagements.  He  was  complimented  by  Gen. 
Ruger  for  a  forced  march  he  made  with  50  Indian  scouts 
some  300  miles  to  Sipa,  N.  M.,  at  the  time  of  the  Indian 
uprising  on  the  San  Carlos  agency.  He  was  transferred  in- 
1892,  at  his  own  request,  to  the  i;th  U.  S.  infantry  and 
soon  after  was  detailed  as  military  instructor  at  the  Agri 
cultural  college  in  Amherst,  where  he  remained  four 
years,  his  term  having  been  extended  one  year  at  the 
special  request  of  the  college  authorities.  On  leaving 
Amherst  he  joined  his  regiment  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  where 
he  remained  until  the  regiment  was  summoned  into  camp 
at  Tampa.  About  April  i  he  was  appointed  Quarter 
master  of  his  regiment  by  Col.  (now  Gen.)  Poland,  and 
under  the  Act  of  Congress  approved  April  26  he  was 
advanced  to  the  rank  of  Captain,  his  commission,*  which 
would  soon  have  been  issued,  to  date  from  that  day.  He 

*  Note.    This  commission  has  been  issued  by  President  McKinlejr 
since  Lieut.  Dickinson's  death.    It  bears  date  July  14, 1898. 

.    43 


accompanied  his  regiment  to  Cuba,  took  part  with  it  in 
the  fighting  about  Santiago,  and  in  the  battle  which 
occurred  July  i  received  a  wound  from  which  he  died. 
The  particulars  of  his  death  have  not  yet  been  received. 

During  the  four  years  that  Lieut.  Dickinson  remained 
in  Amherst  he  renewed  old  friendships  and  made  many 
new  ones.  His  work  at  the  college  was  of  exceptional 
interest  and  value.  A  thorough  disciplinarian,  he  at  the 
same  time  won  the  affectionate  regard  of  the  students  and 
trained  them  so  carefully  and  intelligently  that  the 
"  Aggie  "  battalion  under  his  command  was  the  pride  of 
the  college  and  was  greeted  with  enthusiasm  whenever  it 
made  its  appearance,  as  it  frequently  did,  in  public.  His 
fellow  members  of  the  faculty  held  him  in  high  esteem 
and  President  Goodell  regarded  him  almost  as  his  own 
son.  In  company  with  his  wife  he  took  a  prominent  part 
in  social  events  and  his  departure  from  the  town  was 
greatly  regretted.  When  reports  were  first  read  in  last 
Wednesday's  papers  of  his  death  his  Amherst  friends 
were  incredulous,  and  as  a  wrong  initial  was  given  and 
the  regiment  was  stated  to  be  the  igth  instead  of  the  i;th 
it  was  thought  the  news  related  to  some  other  officer. 
Several  telegrams  were  exchanged  between  his  relatives 
.and  the  war  department,  but  while  official  confirmation 
of  his  death  is  lacking  his  family  accepts  it  as  a  fact  and 
his  brother,  M.  F.  Dickinson,  Jr.,  has  gone  to  Washing 
ton  to  see  if  it  will  be  possible  to  recover  his  body  and 
have  it  brought  home  for  burial. 

Lieut.  Dickinson  was  married  to  Martha  E.  Otis, 
daughter  of  Hon.  George  L.  Otis,  a  well-known  lawyer  of 
St.  Paul,  Minn.,  who  at  one  time  was  mayor  of  the  city ;  she 
survives  him ;  they  have  had  no  children.  His  father  and 
mother  are  still  living  at  the  family  homestead  in  North 

44 


Amherst.  He  also  leaves  two  brothers  and  four  sisters. 
They  are:  M.  F.  Dickinson,  Jr.,  the  well-known  lawyer, 
of  Boston ;  Col.  Asa  W.  Dickinson,  a  leading  lawyer  of 
Jersey  City,  N.  J.;  Amelia,  widow  of  the  late  Franklin  L. 
Pope  of  Great  Harrington,  accidently  killed  by  an  elec 
tric  current  some  three  years  ago  ;  Roxie,  wife  of  Elihu 
Holbrook  of  Holbrook ;  Julia,  wife  of  Rev.  Charles  S. 
Nickerson  of  Newtonville  and  Fannie,  wife  of  Dr.  J.  B. 
Lindsey  of  the  Agricultural  college.  His  oldest  sister,, 
who  died  14  years  ago,  was  the  wife  of  Rev.  Henry  N. 
Couden,  now  the  blind  chaplain  of  the  national  House 
of  Representatives,  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  war,  who  lost 
his  sight  from  wounds  received  while  fighting  guerillas 
in  Mississippi  in  May,  1863.  Mr.  Couden's  son,  but  19 
years  of  age,  and  so  small  that  a  special  order  of  the  war 
department  had  to  be  secured  ere  his  enlistment  was 
accomplished,  is  a  member  of  the  ist  District  of  Colum 
bia  volunteers,  now  on  the  way  to  Santiago. 

Lieut.  Dickinson  was  a  member  of  Pacific  Lodge  F. 
&  A.  M.,  Amherst,  and  during  his  detail  here  served  as 
Master  of  the  Lodge. 


PROFESSOR  GROSVENOR'S  TRIBUTE. 

The  rumor  that  Lieutenant  Dickinson  had  fallen  at 
Santiago  came  as  a  terrible  shock  to  this  community. 
Hour  after  hour,  with  a  dull  ache  and  a  constantly  shrink 
ing  hope,  we  have  watched  and  waited  until  now  it  seems 
as  if  the  last  hope  was  gone.  Of  him,  whose  living  pres 
ence  still  seems  a  reality,  there  is  no  need  that  a  word  be 
said.  Not  a  person  is  there  among  us  but  knew  him  andr 
in  knowing  him,  loved  and  honored  him.  No  nobler,, 
worthier,  more  devoted  citizen  has  gone  forth  to  this  war. 

45 


A  natural  leader,  utterly  fearless,  utterly  regardless  of 
self,  he  was  sure  to  seek  any  post  of  danger  where  the 
destiny  of  battle  is  most  likely  to  find  its  shining  mark. 
Yet,  as  one  recalls  the  handgrasp  so  warm  and  the  voice 
so  cheery  and  the  step  so  buoyant  and  the  whole  man  so 
full  of  life  and  energy,  it  is  incredible  that  we  may  not 
again  welcome  him  to  our  midst.  He  was  the  best  prod 
uct  and  the  best  embodiment  of  what  we  call  American 
ism.  And  the  glory  of  Americanism  is  its  discharge  of 
present  duty.  So,  whenever  he  saw  a  duty,  nothing  could 
hold  him  back  from  its  performance,  but  he  performed  it 
in  a  way  to  clothe  that  duty  with  sunshine.  It  was  good 
to  be  in  his  presence  and  to  look  into  his  face.  The 
students  of  two  colleges  during  four  years'  intercourse  saw 
in  him  more  than  a  soldier  or  a  teacher.  They  saw  a  true 
man.  The  doctrine  of  patriotism,  which  he  taught  with 
soldierly  directness,  he  enforced  in  his  life  no  less  than 
in  that  last  crisis  of  battle.  Typical  of  him  was  his 
address  before  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural  college  at 
the  memorial  service  of  Governor  Greenhalge  on  March 
9,  1896.  I  quote  the  closing  passage,  wherein  he  speaks 
of  the  "higher  duty:  "  "  That  duty  is  the  one  you  owe  to 
your  country.  By  your  country  I  do  not  mean  this  small 
space,  crossed  and  re-crossed  by  the  beautiful  and  granite- 
capped  hills  which  so  closely  encircle  us,  but  I  speak  of  a 
country,  a  part  of  whose  wide  domain  is  always  in  sunlight, 
extending  westward  from  the  storm-washed  rocks  of  the 
New  England  shore  to  the  farthest  extremities  of  the 
Aleutian  Isles — from  the  present  frozen  shores  of  the 
great  lakes  to  the  ever  tropical  climate  of  the  Mexican 
gulf — a  country  with  70,000,000  of  people — a  country  of 
free  speech  and  free  religion;  a  country  covered  with 
schools  and  churches — a  country  to  be  proud  of ;  a  coun- 

46 


:ry  to  respect ;  and  above  all,  if  need  be,  a  country  to  die 
for.  This  is  the  spirit  which  should  be  taught  in  all  our 
public  schools,  encouraged  at  the  fireside,  and  in  the 
churches,  that  the  aim  of  every  boy  and  young  man  might 
DC  to  make  this  our  common  country  united — one  for  all, 
:or  in  unison  only  is  there  strength.  Then  the  day  will 
purely  come  when  one  could  wish  no  other  epitaph  than 
;his,  He  lived  and  died  an  American  citizen."  Our  coun- 
;ry  is  the  dearer  and  the  saintlier  to  us  that  these  eloquent 
vords  of  epitaph  in  their  fullest  meaning  apply  to  him. 
Fhere  are  many  of  us  stricken  in  this  bereavement.  But 
;here  is  one  on  whom  it  falls  most  crushing  of  all.  To  her, 
:hus  early  widowed,  who  was  the  charm  and  inspiration  of 
lis  life,  our  hearts  go  out  with  inexpressible  sympathy.  In 
:he  presence  of  her  sorrow  we  stand  awesticken  and 
jpeechless.  But  she  is  the  daughter  of  a  family,  among 
;he  most  honored  in  Massachusetts,  which  for  generations 
n  council  chamber  or  in  the  field  of  action  has  never 
'altered.  As  the  faces  of  her  ancestors  look  down  from 
:he  walls  of  the  old  State  House  in  Boston,  their  pictured 
ips  seem  saying  to  her:  "You  have  given  your  best, 
rour  all,  but  like  us  you  have  given  it  gloriously  in  the  ser 
vice  of  your  country."  EDWIN  A.  GROSVENOR. 
Amherst  College. 


PROFESSOR  MILLS'  TRIBUTE. 

MR.  EDITOR:  While  many  friends  of  Lieutenant  Dick- 
nson,  who  fell  in  the  battle  before  Santiago  a  few  days 
iince,  are  giving  expression  to  their  grief  for  his  untimely 
leath  there  are  reasons  why  the  citizens  of  Amherst  and 
;he  friends  of  the  Agricultural  college  also  should  share 

47 


in  these  tributes  to  the  memory  of  this  fallen  soldier. 
Lieut.  Dickinson  was,  so  far  as  we  know,  the  first  of  her 
sons  that  Amherst  has  given  to  the  cause  of  Cuban  inde 
pendence.  A  son  of  Amherst  he  was,  in  truth.  Among 
the  early  settlers  of  Amherst  his  ancestors  were  found. 
His  family,  for  successive  generations,  has  held  a  promi 
nent  place  among  the  families  of  the  town.  He  himself 
received  his  early  training  in  its  public  schools  and  from 
them  was  appointed  by  a  distinguished  and  honored 
citizen  of  Amherst  to  a  cadetship  at  West  Point.  After 
years  of  training  in  the  academy  and  on  the  field  of  active 
service  on  our  western  frontier  he  came  back  to  give  four 
years  of  efficient  and  faithful  service  to  one  of  Amherst's 
colleges  and  to  renew  and  strengthen  many  of  the  friend 
ships  of  his  boyhood  days.  During  all  these  years  his 
love  for  Amherst  has  steadily  increased  and  in  a  letter 
written  on  the  transport  as  he  was  about  to  set  foot  on 
the  soil  of  Cuba  he  expressed  the  questioning  desire  that 
he  might  see  Amherst  again.  This  desire  was  not  to  be 
gratified ;  but  that  he  should,  amid  the  excitements  and 
distractions  of  those  busy  hours,  turn  his  thoughts  in  fond 
desire  to  his  boyhood  home,  reveals  a  tenderness  and 
loyalty  in  the  man  not  inconsistent  with  the  courage  and 
devotion  of  the  soldier. 

The  value  of  Lieut.  Dickinson's  work  at  the  Agricul- 
tual  college  is  well  known  by  his  associates  there.  To 
it  he  brought  a  high  ideal  of  the  soldier's  duty,  a 
scrupulous  regard  for  the  interests  of  individual  stu 
dents,  and  a  patient  attention  to  the  minutest  details 
pertaining  to  the  military  department.  It  mattered  not 
whether  he  was  to  prepare  a  report  to  his  superior  offi 
cers  at  Washington,  or  to  promote  the  efficiency  of 
his  battalion  by  enforcing  needed  discipline  in  its  ranks, 

48 


or  to  take  command  of  the  same  on  those  sad  Memorial 
Days  that  appeal  so  tenderly  to  patriotic  hearts,  he  was 
always  faithful  and  true.  The  influence  of  Lieut.  Dickin 
son's  work  was  felt  in  every  department  of  the  college. 
It  commanded  the  hearty  respect  of  his  associates  on  the 
faculty  while  the  students  admired  him  as  a  soldier  and 
trusted  him  as  a  friend. 

When  such  lives  are  laid  upon  the  altar  we  realize 
how  great  is  the  sacrifice  that  is  being  made  for  Cuban 
independence.  It  is  such  devotion  as  that  shown  by 
Lieut.  Dickinson  and  his  brave  comrades  that  makes 
'the  land  holy  where  they  fought  and  holy  where  they 
Eell,"  and  though  we  may  not  be  able  to  carry  to  their 
resting  places  the  tokens  of  our  affection  yet  to  these 
shall 

"Honor  come,  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay." 

GEORGE  F.  MILLS. 
Agricultural  College. 


49 


From  the  Record  of  July  20,  1898. 
HOW  A  HERO  FELL 

From  Monday's  Boston  Evening  Transcript  we 
copy  the  following  description  by  Joseph  E.  Chamberlin, 
its  regular  correspondent  at  the  front,  of  the  circumstances 
under  which  Lieut.  Walter  Mason  Dickinson  met  his 
death. 

The  Seventh  had  been  sent  forward  to  a  still  nearer 
hillock,  where  the  regiment  lay  flat  on  its  face,  pouring  a 
fierce  fire  down  upon  the  village.  Our  commanding 
officer,  Lieutenant  Colonel  J.  T.  Haskell,  had  orders  to 
support  the  Seventh.  In  front  of  him  was  an  open  field, 
swept  by  the  Spanish  musketry  fire  from  breast-works 
around  the  village.  In  advance  of  his  regiment  Colonel 
Haskell  stepped  out  into  this  open  space,  walking  erect, 
without  crouching  or  running.  In  another  moment  he 
fell  to  the  earth.  Lieutenant  Dickinson,  who  was  with 
him,  received  a  shot  in  his  arm  and  came  back  for  help. 
The  regiment  crept  along  on  hands  and  knees  toward  a 
lane  that  offered  some  shelter  from  the  killing  fire. 
Meanwhile,  Lieutenant  Roberts  called  for  five  men  to 
go  out  to  get  the  colonel,  and  five  privates  stepped  for 
ward.  Three  of  them  were  shot  down  in  the  open.  The 
others  pressed  on,  and  with  the  officers  brought  back  the 
colonel;  he  had  three  bad  wounds.  Lieutenant  Dickin 
son,  who  again  turned  into  the  thick  of  the  fire,  received 
another  and  a  fatal  wound  through  his  body.  The 
wounded  men  were  carried  into  a  lane  which  ran  straight 
toward  the  stone  fort  on  the  hill,  and  which,  being  be 
ing  depressed  a  little,  afforded  some  shelter  from  the  rain 
of  lead,  and  into  this  lane  the  whole  regiment  filed,  lying 
down  with  faces  to  the  ridge. 

50 


From  this  position,  which  looked  straight  down  upon 
the  town,  and  which  the  regiment  had  to  hold  all  day, 
the  whole  of  the  action  on  this  side  of  Caney  could  be 
seen.  We  very  quickly  made  the  discovery  that  the  chief 
source  of  the  slaughter  up  to  this  moment  had  been  a  veri 
table  hornet's  nest  of  a  breastwork  on  the  side  of  the  low 
hillock  on  which  Caney  stands.  It  was  on  the  very  edge 
of  the  village,  and  extended  from  one  building  to  another, 
with  an  extension  at  right  angles  down  the  slope  of  the 
hill.  There  were  breastworks,  too,  along  the  sides  of  the 
stone  forts,  on  the  larger  hill,  and  from  these  shots  raked 
the  whole  length  of  our  lane.  Well  off  in  the  hills  at  the 
other  end  of  the  lane,  was  a  Spanish  blockhouse,  which 
was  too  far  away  to  do  much  damage,  but  which  occa 
sionally  sent  an  effective  ball  down  the  lane.  The  hot 
fire  from  the  breastwork  in  the  town  sent  its  hail  of  lead 
straight  across  the  lane,  cutting  off  the  leaves  with  a  con 
tinual  slapping,  spattering  sound,  and  now  and  then  cut 
ting  off  a  sapling  and  dropping  it  on  our  heads.  An  oc 
casional  ball  threw  a  shower  of  gravel  over  us,  and  now 
and  then  one  killed  a  man  in  spite  of  his  lyingfdown. 
The  wounded  colonel  lay  on  the  ground  half-naked,  giv 
ing  orders,  half-wandering,  to  his  men.  The  wounded 
lieutenant,  who  was  dying,  lay  in  a  litter,  and  was  wounded 
again  in  the  knee  as  he  lay  there.  Officers  with  orders 
passed  up  and  down  regardless  of  danger.  The  major, 
O'Brien,  now  in  command,  walked  the  line  coolly.  The 
regimental  surgeon,  Major  Ebert,  ran  up  and  down,  ap 
plying  bandages  and  directing  his  hospital  stewards.  He 
had  two  regiments  to  attend  to— it  is  the  policy  of  the 
medical  department  to  deprive  the  regiments  of  their 
surgeons  and  send  them  to  the  division  hospitals — and 
he  had  an  operation  to  perform  every  ten  minutes. 


1AWMJM 


From  the  Record  of  July  27,  1898. 
LIEUT.  DICKINSON'S  DEATH 


The  following  is  taken  from  a  letter  addressed  to 
Mrs.  Walter  M.  Dickinson,  written  by  Rev.  Ruter  W. 
Springer,  chaplain  of  the  i;th  regiment: 

On  the  morning  of  July  i,  at  the  opening  of  the  battle 
of  Caney,  he  was  wounded  three  times;  first,  in  the  right 
forearm;  next  through  the  abdomen  and  bladder;  and, 
while  his  wounds  were  being  dressed,  through  the  right 
lower  leg.  Removal  being  impossible,  he  remained  on 
the  field  until  the  battle  was  over,  being  placed  in  a  shel 
tered  place;  and,  in  the  evening,  a  field  hospital  was  or 
ganized  near  by,  and  he  was  removed  thereto.  Lt.-Col. 
Haskell,  commanding  the  regiment,  was  wounded  at  the 
same  time  as  your  husband.  Q.  M.  Sgt.  Kaltschmidt 
was  assigned  to  care  for  your.husband;  and  took  the  very 
best  care  of  him,  throughout.  Mr.  Dickinson  complained 
of  a  good  deal  of  pain,  but  bore  it  bravely  and  quietly. 
The  pain  was  largely  relieved  by  the  use  of  morphine. 
At  about  1-30  A.  M.,  July  2,  he  became  unconscious;  and 
gradually  sank  away,  until  he  passed  off  at  2-20  A.  M., 
without  pain  at  the  time.  Everyone  was  deeply  con 
cerned  for  him,  throughout ;  and  it  was  very  evident  how 
much  he  was  liked  by  all. 


MORE  ABOUT  LIEUT.  DICKINSON 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  a  letter  published 
in  Saturday's  New  York  Herald,  written  by  Lieut. 
Charles  D.  Roberts  of  the  iyth  U.  S.  Infantry 

Next  morning,  July  i,  we  pressed  on,  mile  after  mile, 
over  a  miserable  muddy  footpath  in  the  hills.  The  seven 
teenth  was  the  last  regiment  of  General  Chaffee's  brig 
ade.  At  a  quarter  to  seven  in  the  morning  we  heard  the 
artillery  open  fire,  and  at  twenty  minutes  to  nine  the 
bullets  began  to  fly  around  us,  and  we  passed  wounded 
and  dead.  We  tried  to  form  line,  but  could  see  no  enemy 
— only  hear  the  singing  of  bullets.  Occasionally  down 
would  go  a  man.  Company  C  was  in  front,  following 
Colonel  Haskell.  He  led  us  across  a  sunken  road,  had 
a  wire  fence  and  hedge  beyond  cut,  and  started  across 
an  open  field  beyond,  when  a  terrible  fire  opened,  and 
the  Colonel  and  Lieutenant  Dickinson  fell.  Each  was 
shot  twice.  They  called  for  help,  and  several  of  our  men 
started  forward  under  my  charge.  Three  of  them  fell 
wounded  before  we  crossed  the  hedge,  but  the  rest  of 
us  got  through  and  dragged  the  Colonel  back  to  the  road 
under  cover.  Lieut.  Dickinson  got  back  alive.  The  rest 
of  the  regiment  got  on  the  road  and  lay  down,  and  we 
gave  the  wounded  "first  aid"  until  the  surgeon  got  to  us. 
I  think,  altogether,  nine  of  Company  C  were  wounded— 
none  killed — although  Danielson  and  Keily  may  die. 
Little  Lang  got  a  bullet  through  the  arm — a  slight  wound. 

The  other  companies  did  not  lose  so  many,  and  no  offi 
cers  were  hurt  except  the  Colonel  and  Mr.  Dickinson. 
The  latter  was  shot  a  third  time  before  we  could  get  him 
to  the  rear  and  he  died  that  night. 

53 


From  the  Record  of  August  2,  1898. 


LIEUT.  DICKINSON'S  DEATH 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  a  letter  written  by 
Lieut.  Col.  Haskell  of  the  i;th  U.  S.  infantry  to  Mrs. 
Wallace,  sister  of  Mrs.  Walter  M.  Dickinson.  It  is  dated 
at  a  hospital  near  Santiago,  July  7  : 

"On  June  30  just  after  receiving  instructions  to  make 
our  men  comfortable  in  camp  and  to  keep  3  days'  rations 
in  their  haversacks,  I  received  the  order  to  march.  We 
moved  on  to  about  4  o'clock  and  marched  through  mud 
over  one  of  the  worst  roads  I  ever  saw,  sometimes 
through  streams  knee  deep,  but  on  we  went  without  a 
murmur.  At  9  o'clock  we  were  directed  to  form  column 
of  battalions  in  rear  of  the  i2th.  We  bivouaced  and 
remained  until  break  of  day,  when,  without  coffee  or  any 
fire  to  cook  anything  we  started  for  the  enemy.  My 
regiment  was  kept  in  the  rear,  and  was  following  the  7th. 
Lt.  Dickinson  came  to  me  as  we  started  and  said  "Col 
onel,  I  want  to  go  with  you  to-day."  He  had  been  with 
me  always  when  with  the  regiment  on  the  march,  unless 
occupied  in  his  quartermaster  duties,  but  none  were  re 
quired  on  this  march.  We  marched  up  the  mountain 
and  down,  through  streams,  over  muddy  places,  on  the 
slippery  side  of  the  hill,  etc.  Our  horses  were  packed 
and  led  in  rear  of  the  column.  We  had  no  use  for  them 
otherwise,  as  the  road  was  too  narrow  and  slippery. 
Along  about  9  o'clock  I  was  directed  to  reinforce  the 
extreme  right  by  putting  my  regiment  on  that  line.  I  had 
<to  hunt  for  a  position  that  I  could  fire  from  without 

54 


endangering  our  own  men  who  were  in  front  of  us,  and 
having  finally  found  this  had  to  cut  down  the  wire  fence 
to  enter.  Your  dear  brother  was  at  my  side  all  this 
time  and  I  had  just  taken  a  view  of  the  town  of  Caney 
and  decided  where  to  put  the  regiment  when  my  right 
boot  was  struck  in  the  sole  by  the  heel.  The  bullet  went 
through  the  entire  sole  without  breaking  the  skin;  it 
stunned  the  foot.  Just  then  my  left  arm  dropped  to  my 
side.  I  had  been  shot  through  the  left  breast.  Then 
the  dear  boy  sang  our  "Colonel  I  am  gone,  they  have 
shot  me  clear  through,"  then  his  right  arm  dropped,  he 
was  shot  through  the  right  fore  arm.  Then  a  ball  struck 
my  right  knee  and  knocked  me  down.  Dickey  ran  but  I 
had  to  roll.  I  gave  orders  where  to  form  the  regiment. 
Of  course  there  was  no  hospital  and  there  were  no 
troops  in  our  rear,  so  we  were  attended  to  on  the  firing 
line  and  had  to  stay  there  until  the  Spaniards  were  driven 
out  of  Caney,  which  was  about  5  P.  M.,  then  we  were 
carried  back  a  short  distance  and  cared  for.  Lieut. 
Dickinson  was  shot  again  during  the  day  while  lying  on 
the  firing  line,  receiving  a  flesh  wound  in  the  right  leg. 
I  tried  to  get  them  to  put  us  alongside  each  other  but  it 
was  not  safe  during  the  day.  I  sent  to  know  if  he  had 
any  message,  and  that  night  as  we  lay  alongside  each 
other  I  asked  him,  but  his  position  had  to  be  changed 
in  order  to  give  him  better  attention.  The  only  answer  I 
got  to  any  of  my  messages  was  "Give  my  love  to  my 
wife."  I  must  quit;  I  am  getting  along  very  well  and 
expect  to  be  sent  to  Key  West  or  some  other  place  soon. 
1  have  had  to  lie  down  and  rest  many  times  since  I 
started  this.  With  my  most  sincere  sympathy  to  all  the 
family  for  their  great  loss  I  remain  as  ever, 

J.  T.  HASKELL. 

55 


;To  THE  MEMORY  OF  AN  UNDYING  LOVE" 

for 
CAPTAIN  WALTER  MASON  DICKINSON 

Born  in  Amherst,  Mass.,  April  3,  1856 

Died  on  the  Field  of  Battle,  July  2,  1898 

Alive  and  present  in  the  spirit,  1916 

This  little  volume,  consisting  of  a  Memorial  address  by 
President  Henry  Hill  Goodell,  together  with  other  trib 
utes  from  the  Amherst  Record  si  1898,  is  reprinted  in  be 
half  of  the  class  of  '96,  M.  A.  C.,  who  were  under  Capt. 
Dickinson  during  his  entire  detail  at  Massachusetts  Agri 
cultural  College. 

It  is  distributed  with  the  earnest  hope  that  his  noble 
example  of  unselfishness,  sacrifice  and  service  may  not  be 
lost  to  any  one  who  reads  his  record. 

May  he  not  "  have  died  in  vain  "  through  our  lack  of 
sacrifice  and  service  in  this  our  Day  and  Generation. 


Pass  in  review,  Oh  once  again! 

With  boyish  pride  in  Love  of  Flag  and  Native  Land, 

We  march  along  with  steady  tread  and  true, 

A  consecrated  youthful  band, 

Made  so  in  very  truth  by  him 

Who  by  his  manliness  and  noble  thoughts  expressed, 

Kindled  in  us  a  sacred  Patriotic  istfe 'ft/UL 

That  burns  and  will  not  rest. 

My  Captain  stands  there  by  the  flag  he  loved, 

We  pass  and  homage  do  "  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee," 

And  at  the  close  I  hear  him  say  again, 

"  The  flag  and  what  I  stand  for  you  salute,  not  me." 

NEWTON  SHULTIS, 

Pres.  Asso.  Alumni,  Mass.  Agric.  College. 
Amherst,  Mass.,  April,  1916. 


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